Chen Xiaocai discussed the hot spring hotel with Lu Lin. In his previous life, Lu Lin had been to hot springs a few times, but he didn't know much about how to build a hot spring hotel.

That being said, Lu Lin's knowledge far surpassed Chen Xiaocai's, and Lu Lin's suggestions were very enlightening for Chen Xiaocai. "Brother Lin, what do you think about using bamboo for landscaping?"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, we should use what we have on hand and try to make it as natural as possible."

Chen Xiaocai thought to himself: If bamboo could be used for landscaping, it would save money. If a hot spring hotel were to be built, it would be a huge project, and the money required would definitely not be a small amount. Although he had earned a lot of money in the past few years, every little bit saved counts.

There are quite a few local bamboo craftsmen in Shaxian County, and you can entrust them with making bamboo bowls, bamboo cups, and the like.

Chen Xiaocai got some advice from Lu Lin and then ran off excitedly.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai's retreating figure, resting his chin on his hand with some concern.

Chen Xiaomi walked in and asked, "What's wrong? Are you worried?"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I am a little worried. This little guy is growing too fast, and there's almost nothing left to teach him."

Chen Xiaomi smiled and said, "Don't worry, this guy actually admires you a lot. Even if you don't have anything left to teach him, you're already very impressive in his eyes."

Lu Lin: "..." Is that so? This kid often seems very arrogant.

Chen Xiaocai started a hot spring project here with great enthusiasm, and he invited a few people to conduct an on-site inspection.

Originally, the villagers didn't really take the hot spring seriously. In their eyes, it was ridiculous to build such a large-scale project just for a little bit of hot water when all the firewood was used to heat the water.

However, seeing how much Chen Xiaocai cared about the hot springs, the villagers took it to heart.

Several more hot springs were discovered one after another. Chen Xiaocai chose a location that was relatively easy to develop and found some experts in building houses to plan a hot spring hotel.

The villagers here had never heard of hot spring hotels. The people Chen Xiaocai found were good at building houses, but building a hotel in the mountains would be quite difficult.

As Lu Lin described the grand plans for various hot spring hotels, Chen Xiaocai offered some suggestions, which impressed several experienced builders who kept asking her all sorts of questions about the details. This left Chen Xiaocai completely bewildered, so she went to Lu Lin. Lu Lin was so annoyed by Chen Xiaocai's persistent questioning that he suddenly felt like he was digging his own grave.

The rough construction plans for the hot spring hotel, though made with much difficulty, have finally been finalized.

“This is a sulfur spring!” Lu Lin inspected the hot spring that Chen Xiaocai had chosen.

"What do you think of the sulfur spring?" Chen Xiaomi asked.

"This spring water is great. It can relieve itching, detoxify, and treat chronic skin diseases. Soaking in it more often is good for your health."

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin, vaguely doubting whether what Lu Lin said was true or false.

Chen Xiaocai finalized the hot spring development project, consulted with the village heads of various villages in Shaxian County, and had them announce the recruitment information in their villages.

Chen Xiaocai had already gained a high reputation in Shaxian County, and the village heads took the tasks assigned to them very seriously.

"The village head!"

The village head shook his head and said, "This time, the more work you do, the more money you get. However, Young Master Chen is always very generous. As long as you work hard, you should be able to earn twenty or thirty yuan a day. The wages will be settled every seven days, and it's okay if you want to quit midway."

"We can naturally trust Young Master Chen's character." Chen Xiaocai has a good reputation in Shaxian County. In recent years, Chen Xiaocai has hired people to build many shops and houses, and he has always paid the wages very readily. The villagers are not too worried that Chen Xiaocai will renege on his debts. Several villagers started to discuss, "Village head, what is Young Master Chen going to build this time?"

The village head said helplessly, "Building a hot spring resort in the mountains? That's a huge project! Are we really going to build that?"

News of the hot spring resort had already leaked out, so the villagers weren't surprised when they heard it.

The village head shook his head and said, "Who knows? We should first build a mountain road that leads directly to the hot spring resort."

I heard that Young Master Chen has been leading a few people into the mountains lately, supposedly to check out some hot springs.

"How much money would it take to build such a big house in the mountains!"

The village head shook his head and said, "I don't know, but Young Master Chen shouldn't be afraid to spend money. It's said that he earned several hundred taels of silver selling storybooks in the capital before, so he probably isn't afraid to spend money."

The villagers looked at each other, all somewhat envious.

"Alright, this time Young Master Chen hasn't just approached people from our village; people from other villages have heard the news too. Apparently, some people from other counties also want to work here, so the competition will probably be fierce."

A few villagers said with some suspicion, "There are also people from other counties."

The village head nodded and said, "Our county's reputation has spread far and wide now, and many people from other counties want to come here to find work."

Several villagers started discussing it. This kind of work wasn't always available. When there was really no work, the wages for working for those wealthy countrymen would be very low. People as generous as Chen Xiaocai were a minority.

The village head paused, letting the villagers discuss for a while, and then said, "Young Master Chen is going to build a hot spring resort, and these people have naturally heard the news. It is said that people from other counties have already gone to Young Master Chen. Those people said that as long as there is work to do, they don't mind if the wages are low. Young Master Chen has also replied that if they are willing to come, he will treat them equally."

The villagers started gossiping again, thinking that these people from other villages were too cunning, actually asking for a reduction in wages.

Several people who had originally planned to hold out for a higher price immediately abandoned their schemes upon hearing that Chen Xiaocai didn't need any workers.

"Where will these people from other villages stay?" several villagers muttered to themselves.

That's not a problem. There are a few inns built by Chen Ershao in this town, and we plan to vacate one for these people to stay in.

"Young Master Chen is being too generous."

"We can't let people from other counties outdo us."

Upon hearing the village head's words, the villagers' expressions became much more serious.

In no time, everyone in the county sprang into action, and those who were idle devoted themselves to the construction of the hot spring hotel.

People from all the villages in Shaxian County were organized to help Chen Xiaocai.

With a large amount of money spent, the construction of hot spring hotels was very rapid.

Instead of paying people on a daily basis, Chen Xiaocai adopted Lu Lin's suggestion and divided the people who came from different villages into five large construction teams, each with its own chief foreman.

The large construction team was further divided into smaller construction teams of three to five people each. These smaller teams were usually composed of members of a large family or a few people who knew each other.

Chen Xiaocai divided the task of building the hot spring hotel among several villages.

After receiving the task, the village foreman further divided it and assigned it to small construction teams.

Chen Xiaocai stated that no matter how long it takes, as long as the work is completed, he will be paid according to his work.

In this way, everyone wanted to finish their work quickly so they could get paid, and no one was lazy. If someone was lazy, Chen Xiaocai didn't need to supervise them; the other people in the group would urge them to work faster.

Everyone wanted to finish their work quickly so they could move on to the next project and earn more money.

For a time, many people were very enthusiastic, and some even worked day and night.

People in Shaxian County don't understand why Chen Xiaocai is building a hot spring hotel so extravagantly. Some people think that Chen Xiaocai is just burning through his money because he's made too much.

Regardless, Chen Xiaocai paid him well, so the villagers were happy to work for him.

While Chen Xiaocai was busy here, Chen Xiaomai wasn't idle either.

Chen Xiaomai was very interested in the hot spring restaurant and became fascinated with cooking large pot meals. She often went to the construction site to cook large pot meals for the workers. Cooking large pot meals is not something ordinary people can do. It requires a lot of strength, such as flipping the wok. However, it was not too difficult for Chen Xiaomai, who had inexhaustible strength.

Chen Xiaomai's skills are excellent, earning her unanimous praise from the workers.

"This Third Young Master Chen is really a good person; he actually came here to cook for us."

"Young Master Chen's cooking skills are absolutely superb!"

"Young Master Chen is so approachable, it's truly rare to find someone like him."

Inside the courtyard.

"Young Master Lu, is Xiao Cai currently building any hot spring hotel?" Ji Chengkang asked.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, once this hotel is built, it will be great to enjoy the hot springs. Soaking in a hot spring in winter is a rare treat!"

Lu Lin frowned, unable to help but reminisce about the bathroom in his previous life. Taking a bath in this place during the winter was a real ordeal. He would shiver all over after taking off his clothes, and the water would get cold easily. If there were hot springs, then taking a bath would become a rare and enjoyable experience.

Ji Chengkang shook his head and said, "This is too much trouble just to take a bath."

Lu Lin: "..." Although that's what they said, who knows, it might make a lot of money. "Once this thing is built, rich people will have a place to relax, and the villagers can also make more money. Isn't that great?"

Ji Chengkang frowned. Building a hot spring hotel was a huge project, but everyone was doing it voluntarily, which was a good thing.

"What if no one goes?"

Lu Lin: "..." If no one goes, it will indeed be a troublesome matter. "If no one goes, I'll just have to go myself." Lu Lin couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

Ji Chengkang: "..."

"When will the peace talks begin?" Lu Lin asked.

Ji Chengkang stroked his chin and said, "Let's do it next spring. Maybe we'll send a princess for a marriage alliance then."

Lu Lin rested his chin on his hand and said, "Is that so? It would be a big problem if the talks broke down." Ji Chengkang said dismissively, "That's not necessarily true. It is said that the Liao Kingdom is in great turmoil over the struggle for the throne, and there has been internal strife within the dynasty. It may take several years for things to stabilize, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Lu Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Once the war broke out, Chen Xiaolai's shops in Shaxian would be completely ruined. The shops were secondary; as an official, he couldn't hide. If he were to get involved in the war, he might die. He was a man with a bright future ahead of him; it would be too tragic if he died like that.

Lu Lin has been very busy lately. Relations between the two countries have improved, and more people are coming to Shaxian to do business. Although the news isn't confirmed yet, many well-informed people have already started making moves.

Kyoto.

Ji Yun'an sat by the window, looking at the blooming red plum blossoms outside, with a stack of letters in his hand.

Ji Yun'an maintained correspondence with Chen Xiaomai, and kept all the letters.

Chen Xiaomai's letters have always been written by Chen Xiaocai, but recently there have been some other things added to them.

Some of the drawings, and some messy handwriting, were probably written by Chen Xiaomai. Chen Xiaocai's handwriting wasn't very good to begin with, but compared to Chen Xiaomai, it was already considered well-written.

Although Chen Xiaomai's handwriting was ugly and contained many mistakes, Ji Yun'an cherished it and read it over and over again.

"Yun'an, what's this! A chicken leg?" A classmate came over and was surprised to see the drawing that Ji Yun'an had tucked into the book.

Ji Yun'an closed the book in his hand, glanced at Wei Qiyu who had come closer, and said, "Aren't you going to study?"

Wei Qiyu smoothed his hair and said, "Whether you study or not makes no difference. But Yun'an, your mentor has high hopes for you, yet you're not studying but just staring at a chicken leg in a daze. No matter how realistic the chicken leg looks, it's still fake and won't fill your stomach. I never thought you'd have a hobby of drawing pictures to satisfy your hunger. But speaking of which, this chicken leg is drawn so ugly. How could there be such an ugly chicken leg?"

Ji Yun'an glared at Wei Qiyu and said, "Don't talk nonsense, where is it ugly?"

Wei Qiyu tilted his head and thought to himself: This painting is ugly to begin with, and they won't even let me say it. There's something fishy going on!

Wei Qiyu said with some suspicion, "Yun'an, your drawing skills are not bad. This ugly chicken leg can't be drawn by you, right?"

Ji Yun'an glared at Wei Qiyu and said, "You talk too much."

Wei Qiyu looked at Ji Yun'an and thought to himself: This chicken leg wasn't drawn by Ji Yun'an, could it have been drawn by Ji Yun'an's sweetheart? Is she some kind of young lady from a prominent family? It doesn't make sense, what noble lady would draw a chicken leg and give it to a man? This gift is too strange.

Wei Qiyu tilted his head at Ji Yun'an and said, "I heard you often send letters to Shaxian. Is there someone there you can't let go of?"

Ji Yun'an lowered his head and said, "You're almost eighteen, right? Have you settled down yet? If you haven't settled down by now, it'll be time to pay taxes!" Wei Qiyu stroked his chin and said, "Taxes are taxes, three taels of silver a year isn't much."

“Young Master Wei is wealthy and powerful, so he certainly doesn’t need a few taels of silver. But isn’t this shameful? Young Master Wei, you are quite a handsome man, yet no one seems to care about you,” Ji Yun’an said jokingly.

Wei Qiyu scratched his head and said, "Let's not talk about this. It gives me a headache."

Ji Yun'an glanced at Wei Qiyu and said, "Your mother seems very anxious!"

Wei Qiyu smiled and said, "You don't understand. A woman is gentle and affectionate before you marry her, but she turns into a tigress once you do."

Ji Yun'an glanced at Wei Qiyu and said, "Is this based on your father's experience?"

Wei Qiyu: "..."